Group Insurance schemes are often looked down upon in comparison to an individual insurance policy (said to have a greater benefit of customization). It seems as if there are no probable advantages to Group Insurance schemes and one can do without them as well. But, the reality differs a bit. Group Insurance provided by any firm is not limited to save its taxes but to genuinely help the employees in need.
Imagine a construction company that has not provided the workmen compensation and group health benefit to its workers. In case a worker meets with an accident at work, it becomes employer’s liability and responsibility to ensure that the worker if treated and compensated for the loss. If the firm does not provide any Group Insurance scheme, in the case of any emergency, the financial burden will come upon them.
As one may be aware, the construction business is full of risks for the workers who have to deal with complex machinery and work on the site exposed to several occupational hazards. Similarly, in the corporate offices also, even though the employees are capable of purchasing an individual insurance policy, they would always prefer to have a Group Cover from the company. They would like to rely on the Group covers if the option is available as many of its provisions do not have any waiting period as opposed to an individual insurance policy.
An employer can provide Group Insurance covers according to the type of business that they are running. On this basis, the standard schemes will include:
- Group Life Insurance
- Group Health Insurance
- Group Personal Accident Insurance
- Group Gratuity and superannuation schemes
The above will be provided by all the organisations in general, but there are certain schemes which might be provided to a specific group and depend on the kind of business. These include:
- Workmen Compensation
- Group Professional Indemnity Insurance
In order to further understand how Group Insurance schemes are reliable, let’s have a look at their benefits through certain examples:
- No Waiting Period:
Group policies used by employers cover the new joiners from day one, even if they have suffered or still suffer from an illness or conditions. This is true for group term life and group health policies. Even group personal accident policies and critical policies offer similar benefits.
- Immediate cover for critical illnesses:
Similar to maternity benefit, a Group Health covers the worker and his/her family from critical illnesses like Heart problems, kidney failure, etc. For those who have old parents, this is the most useful benefit because of higher risk and expensive treatments.
- No checks required:
To be eligible for a Group Insurance scheme, one must just be an employee of an organisation. Without any checks, the Group Insurance schemes will be deemed applicable to him and his family. There is no health check-up required in case of Group Health Schemes and workers are even covered for occupational hazards in case of Workmen compensation policy.
- The family is protected throughout:
Death or accident of a breadwinner can be a real tough time for his family. In case a worker dies unfortunately on the spot, the Group Life Insurance scheme will compensate the family financially for the same. If a worker loses his limbs while working at a construction site and becomes incapable of doing the same line of work, the company will be liable to train him in a different vocation under the Worker’s Compensation Policy. The family’s education and travel expenses will also be borne by the company under the same policy if the worker dies or is unable to work for a considerable time.
- Benefits after retirement:
Even though retirement seems to be too far-off, it is very essential to save for the same. Superannuation schemes enable regular savings which can be received in parts at the time of retirement. Contribution to the retirement plan is jointly made by the employer and employees, and if the employee volunteers, he/she can also increase his contribution to the same. These funds can be transferred if one is changing jobs or they can be left with the same employer and availed later.
- Cashless facility and reputed Hospital network:
In the case of Group Health Insurance schemes, more and more reputed hospitals will like to collaborate with good companies and firms. Moreover, the paperwork is not required if you approach these hospitals through group schemes. Thus, one is able to get good-quality treatment at reputed hospitals without any hassle and is also covered for the same.
Apart from the above benefits, there are many add-on covers which are available in these like no higher room limits, accidental rider benefits, etc. which can also be availed.
How is sum insured of Group Policies calculated? Is it Sufficient
The sum insured of a Group Insurance Policy varies from policy to policy. While in a Group Life Insurance, it is decided according to different benefits schedule in which the employer forms classes of employees based on their salaries or length of service, etc. On the other hand, A Group Health Insurance scheme is mostly based on the flat schedule in which all the employees are included irrespective of any factors.
It is always decided with the proper assessment of the particulars and specific requirements of each employee. For example, if an organisation has most young employees, the cover for maternity will be kept higher in its Group Health Insurance scheme as opposed to the company where the maximum number of employees is above 40 years of age. Thus, in most cases, the sum insured is feasible for the entire family of the employee!
Imagine an employee, unfortunately, meets with an accident while travelling for work. If the Group Personal Accident Cover is available, the family will not have to borrow or spend from the personal savings for something that they had not been prepared for.
The above benefits, if available through your employer should help you relax about the eventualities in life. Online insurance advisors like SecureNow offer services starting from conceptualization stage to the claim settlement for group policies, performing each step to ensure that you can relax with the group insurance policy of your employer.
